Maybe it was because the student section finally showed some decent support. Maybe it was because a lower-level team from outside the Dakotas finally showed up on the schedule. Maybe it was because the Gophers are a lot better than their nonconference foes this season.

It might be too early to tell.

But the fact that TCF Bank Stadium provided a true home-field advantage probably gave the University of Minnesota football team a lift in its 44-7 victory over New Hampshire in front of 47,022 fans on Saturday, Sept. 8.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the student section was still mostly filled, a better turnout than in almost every game last season. It probably had something to do with the free tickets given to the freshman class and the tickets passed out at Friday’s pep rally by coach Jerry Kill and athletics director Norwood Teague.

“We’ve got to continue to put a better product out there. It’s not easy,” Kill said. “I appreciate everybody that made the commitment to get in that stadium today to support us. There’s no question it makes it better. We probably got three or four third-down stops (New Hampshire went 5 for 16 on third downs) because of the fans. That’s part of college football.”

Imagine if those fans saw another bad home loss (the Gophers have six nonconference home losses since 2009, including losses in two straight years to Football Championship Subdivision teams North Dakota State and South Dakota). The plan would have backfired.

Instead, the Gophers gave them a show.

MarQueis Gray’s four-touchdown first-half performance was highlighted by a 75-yard touchdown run. The senior quarterback overcame his first-game jitters as the Gophers stuck mostly to their ground attack. Gray completed 6 of 8 passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 17 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns.

Gray overthrew at least nine players on deep routes in the 30-27 triple-overtime win over Nevada-Las Vegas on Aug. 30. But his first throw Saturday was a 27-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Fruechte, making it 9-0 early in the first quarter.

New Hampshire safety Manny Asam verbally challenged the Gophers to throw the ball more, Gray said. But they didn’t have to. The Gophers broke the 200-yard rushing mark for the second straight game with 240, including 70 yards on 17 carries by running back Donnell Kirkwood. The offense converted 11 of 17 third-down opportunities.

Gray had no idea he’d be limited to eight pass attempts (three after halftime) Saturday. He went 17 for 30 for 269 yards with two touchdowns and an interception against UNLV. His biggest mistakes this time were a few fumbles that he managed to recover.

“I was a lot more comfortable, a lot more confident just taking one play at a time and not trying to do too much,” Gray said. “I felt like last week, if I would have made those throws, we wouldn’t have went into overtime. I was down after that game, but we won the game. I knew I was able to make those throws.”

With the game well in hand, sophomore backup Max Shortell replaced Gray on the last two drives, completing 5 of 6 passes for 72 yards and a 19-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Barker.

Minnesota, which led 30-7 at halftime, shut out the Wildcats in the second half.

Junior defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman had two of the team’s four sacks. The 6-foot-6, 300-pound former Minneapolis Washburn tight end already has more sacks this season (three) than he had last year. The Gophers also have 11 sacks in their past three games, which includes five in the 27-7 season-ending victory over Illinois in 2011.

A year ago, a bowl game already seemed almost ridiculous to consider after the first two games because Minnesota fell to 0-2 and ruined a strong showing at Southern California by losing 28-21 to lowly New Mexico State in its home opener. Kill also brought up major concerns about his health after having a seizure on sideline late in the game.

After Saturday’s game, Kill said he was looking forward to getting to really coach because his players respond a lot better when the team wins. So do the fans.

“The students were into it and it was awesome,” said tight end John Rabe, who had his third touchdown catch this season. “Enthusiasm builds on the bench. And everyone gets excited, so it’s great.”

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